Back in an arena he knows well, undefeated super bantamweight Manuel “Tino” Avila will face Sergio Frias August 22 in the main event at the Allan Witt Sports Center in Fairfield, California.

Avila, 22, is thrilled to be fighting in front of his hometown fans.

“I’m super excited,” Avila (15-0, 6 KOs) told this writer via email. “I’m getting a bigger name and higher in the rankings. It feels even better than before being the main event. It’s amazing.”

The bout with Frias (15-3-2, 8 KOs) will mark the fourth time that Avila has fought at the same venue.

Frias, 23, also has something to prove. The Guadalajara native will be making his U.S. debut. He’s been victorious in his last three fights and is expected to enter the ring brimming with confidence.

Avila is also confident, not only in himself, but his team. He rarely goes into a fight with any visual knowledge of his opponent.

“I like to let my corner watch film on him,” said Avila. ”I do what I'm told and also figure him out in the fight as it goes on.”

Avila has scored knockout victories in two of his three bouts.

In his last fight he tangled with David De La Mora, who in 2012 made an unsuccessful bid for a world title. Avila studied De La Mora in the opening stanza.

In round two, he began to let his hands go. As the fighters mixed it up near the ropes, Avila stepped back and fired a right-left combination. The left dropped De La Mora on his backside.

He beat the count and attempted to fight back, but another crisp left hook buckled his knees.

Avila calmly backed De La Mora into the ropes and floored him for the second time with a combination of punches. Up at nine, De La Mora had a look of resignation on his face. Avila tagged him with a lead right hand – forcing De La Mora to grab and hold, but seconds’ later a short right hook deposited him on his back.

Even though he seems to be growing into more of a knockout puncher, Avila won’t change his style.

"I never look for the knockout,” Avila said.“Most people get into a lot of trouble looking for knockouts. They can end up getting knocked out themselves. I'm a just a boxer that can hit hard.

"If I need to go to war I can, but I will box and land hard punches.”

The ever improving Avila is quickly becoming one of the most popular fighters in Northern California.

The Avila vs. Frias fight will be shown live on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes’ Golden Boy Live!

Also featured on the card are local favorites Guy Robb and Gerald Washington

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John J. Raspanti has been writing about boxing for over five years now. John has had a love of the sport his entire life, even getting into the ring and sparring to get a feeling for what it's like. His articles and interviews have been posted on doghouseboxing.com, boxingscene.com, and linked to other sites like maxboxing.com and many more. His recent interview with trainer Virgil Hunter garnered mush praise and discussion. John loves to read and talk boxing with anyone and everyone. Contact John with your comments and questions.